"It's too hard to eat exercise calories back"

barbiex3

really? I don't understand this statement. Most of us on this site (with the exception of the few people who want to gain weight or maintain) obviously did NOT have a problem over eating in the past, so why do some people always act like it's SO difficult to eat 1200 calories? I mean really? This is a diet--- it's hard to eat that little.

I donno-- it just really bothers me when people say it's going to be hard for them to bump up there calorie intake from 1200 to 1400 for the day because they ran two miles. Just eat a few crackers, it's not that difficult to eat!!!

=[ ! argg. It's hard mentally to eat sometimes but not physically. FOOD TASTES GOOD THAT'S WHY *MOST* PEOPLE GAIN WEIGHT!

McKayMachina

There will always be fat people on a diet site claiming to not know how to eat enough food. I just ignore them at this point.

jlewis2896

True dat.

I've had days where I'm just not hungry, but most of the time I have to hold myself back from eating my young. I don't think they are in the database anyways.

jbucci1186

i wouldn't say it was "hard" for me, but instead more like... "if i don't eat those back, i'll lose weight faster!"
it has definitely been a struggle doing this while trying to switch over to maintenance mode, but i think i've nearly crossed the line (or am pretty damn close).

now that i've reached my goal, i try to view it as "oh sweet, i just burned x amount of calories, now i can go eat *insert random food here*!"

candistyx

I do find it confusing. And the people who complain they just can't eat their calories regardless of exercise.
Obviously if you NEED to lose weight, you have been eating more than that before right?

And, it's not hard to get calories. I cook with olive oil (I am not giving that up - but I reduced the amount I use) and if I were to just use 2 spoonfulls instead of 1 I'd have an extra 100 odd calories! Do that for every meal and that's 300 extra calories! Have a chocolate bar for one snack and suddenly that's another 300 calories. I wish I had calories to throw away on a chocolate bar :P

Seajolly

Well, some people might be like me who ate too LITTLE before. I was constantly under eating and that's why I gained weight, because my body was holding onto everything that went into my mouth! So for people like me, it was hard adjusting to eating 1200 or more calories per day. I literally had to stretch my stomach out a bit.

elle18287

I wish to God I had that problem. Lol.

bunchesonothing

Certain amounts of intensive or endurance exercise is known to shut off appetite.

Some people's metabolism will slow down after eating so few calories.

I know you don't believe it, but there are sometimes reasons for things we don't understand.

Sometimes the person is starting on an ED.

But I know for myself, especially when I run long, it is a good while before I am hungry afterward... and at that point, it is really hard to scarf down all of the calories I have left.

And I'm a believer in eating exercise calories. I don't have an ED and I don't want to lose weight.

Sometimes it helps to ask why instead of judge.

barbiex3

I do find it confusing. And the people who complain they just can't eat their calories regardless of exercise.
Obviously if you NEED to lose weight, you have been eating more than that before right?

And, it's not hard to get calories. I cook with olive oil (I am not giving that up - but I reduced the amount I use) and if I were to just use 2 spoonfulls instead of 1 I'd have an extra 100 odd calories! Do that for every meal and that's 300 extra calories! Have a chocolate bar for one snack and suddenly that's another 300 calories. I wish I had calories to throw away on a chocolate bar :P

YES!!! I KNOW! put some butter on your food that's about 100 calories easy or drink some juice!! I absolutely do not understand how people say they cannot eat X amount of food when a few months ago they were eating X + 1000!

kykykenna

Well, some people might be like me who ate too LITTLE before. I was constantly under eating and that's why I gained weight, because my body was holding onto everything that went into my mouth! So for people like me, it was hard adjusting to eating 1200 or more calories per day. I literally had to stretch my stomach out a bit.

This I understand....same here!! Once a day eater turned "trying to be better!"

Viewparadise

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

True dat.

I've had days where I'm just not hungry, but most of the time I have to hold myself back from eating my young. I don't think they are in the database anyways.

BabyDuchess

lol......I've wondered about this myself when I read it. One thing I can add though is that I cleaned out my cabinets and refrigerator and replaced EVERYTHING with healthier food so for me it is a little hard on big calorie burn gym days to eat 2200 calories since most of my food is low-calorie, but I get ur done... :laugh: :laugh: :flowerforyou:

trac3

:happy: Geez I can barely handle only consuming 1300 cals a day ~ making sure to burn 500, so averaging about 1800 ~ I'm freaking starving to death!!!:noway:

Jennloella

I think there's enough resources out there that every single person on here knows what they need to do to lose weight. eat less, exercise, etc....if they won't do it, telling him how wrong they are won't change a thing.I was under the impression the point of this community was for support when needed, motivation when down, and suggestions when asked for. If there are people that are not losing weight, and are making excuses for themselves, or are trying to "pretend" it's not their fault (ie, I only eat blah blah why am I not losing weight?!) etc.... just smile and nod. seems like nearly every post I've seen in the last few hours has been started by someone generalizing, stereo typing, and going on about why they are right and a large lump of the users are wrong. we all have pet peeves and things that irritate us....I guess this is mine

momma3sweetgirls

A lot of people fail to plan their exercise/food. If I know I'm going to burn 400 calories when I exercise at 9 pm, I'm not going to scarf down 400 calories right before bed. No, I build it into my day, spreading the calories over my meals and snacks. Having eaten my exercise calories BEFORE actually exercising forces me to actually do the exercise!

candistyx

Well, some people might be like me who ate too LITTLE before. I was constantly under eating and that's why I gained weight, because my body was holding onto everything that went into my mouth! So for people like me, it was hard adjusting to eating 1200 or more calories per day. I literally had to stretch my stomach out a bit.

And you actually lost weight by eating more than you did before? I find that so hard to understand... I mean, thermodynamics and that, if you don't get enough energy, your body HAS to use your fat stores. How can you get fat by undereating?

reneepugh

I think the reason I blogged about having a hard time eating my calories back is because I am eating more but I actually exercise now. I don't think I was an over eater but just inactive. So, now I really do have a hard time making my calorie goal. I actually get off my butt and exercise now!!! ;-).

NikkiTaber

For me, calories aren't the hard part. It's eating them back and not going over my carb, fat, sodium and sugar for the day.

songbyrdsweet

For those of us who adhere to macronutrient ratios, it's not just about drinking juice or buttering bread. It is a challenge some days to fill those ratios correctly with clean food. Additionally, nutritious, fibrous, lean foods tend to have a lot of volume or provide a lot of satiation for few calories. Lastly, exercise is an appetite suppressant. I'm not surprised that some people find it challenging to eat several hundred calories of CLEAN food.

barbiex3

Well, some people might be like me who ate too LITTLE before. I was constantly under eating and that's why I gained weight, because my body was holding onto everything that went into my mouth! So for people like me, it was hard adjusting to eating 1200 or more calories per day. I literally had to stretch my stomach out a bit.

And you actually lost weight by eating more than you did before? I find that so hard to understand... I mean, thermodynamics and that, if you don't get enough energy, your body HAS to use your fat stores. How can you get fat by undereating?

agreed...

Elizabeth_C34

I am one of those people that you find so irritating in this post.

I'll explain to you why I have trouble getting all my workout calories in.

1. I no longer eat the way I used to and no longer find that eating copious amount of food is easy for me. If I overeat, even with calories to spare, I feel bloated and tired.
2. I easily burn 600-1000 calories per workout 6 days a week and I do not eat pasta, potatoes, breads, nor do I eat any processed junk foods. Eating 600 calories in quality healthy foods requires a lot of volume for me that I am not interested in.
3. I have tons of energy and feel amazing without eating my exercise calories back. I do not get hungry nor do I feel lethargic.
4. I am maintaining a 2lb per week loss and have been for two straight months without eating them back in full.

I hope that makes sense to you now...

songbyrdsweet

And one more thing...my food gets BORING. Some days I just don't want to eat what I have.

candistyx

For me, calories aren't the hard part. It's eating them back and not going over my carb, fat, sodium and sugar for the day.

Have you thought about not worrying about\counting "good fat" like omega 3 etc?
Because that is beneficial to your blood triglycerides and if you are under on calories the extra calories in fat is a good thing.

stephanielynn76

I agree!!! I've found myself in the middle of my cardio just thinking about what I'm "earning" calorie-wise and what all I'm gonna eat! LOL I've NEVER had a problem eating mine back. If I find I have a lot left over at the end of the day... a couple of spoons of peanut butter will fix that!

NikkiTaber

For me, calories aren't the hard part. It's eating them back and not going over my carb, fat, sodium and sugar for the day.

Have you thought about not worrying about\counting "good fat" like omega 3 etc?
Because that is beneficial to your blood triglycerides and if you are under on calories the extra calories in fat is a good thing.

I don't worry about the good fats too much. Sometimes seeing the fat numbers go into the red zone from my raw almonds or whatever gets a little disconcerting though.

nascent

I definitely see your point -- obviously over-eating was not the problem almost all of us had when we came here! -- but even as a relatively big guy who has no problem eating tasty foods I've found it hard to eat burned calories. It may be that MFP over-estimates the burned calories, but when it says I burned thousands of calories because I went for a bike ride or mowed the lawn, I don't feel like eating another big meal just to make up for it. Maybe a bunch of gatorade and a snack. My normal daily goal is much higher than 1200 though (1800-2000), which I guess is most of what a 1200 cal diet would be eating back anyway.

hush7hush

Hmmm. Maybe their stomachs have shrank? That DOES tend to happen with weight loss.

Or maybe they have a hard time eating more HEALTHY calories.

Sure, it's easy to eat back your 300 calorie burn by grabbing a twix, but some people have learned to care about the nutritional value of their food.

Don't judge what you don't know.

LimeyTart

I am one of those people that you find so irritating in this post.

I'll explain to you why I have trouble getting all my workout calories in.

1. I no longer eat the way I used to and no longer find that eating copious amount of food is easy for me. If I overeat, even with calories to spare, I feel bloated and tired.
2. I easily burn 600-1000 calories per workout 6 days a week and I do not eat pasta, potatoes, breads, nor do I eat any processed junk foods. Eating 600 calories in quality healthy foods requires a lot of volume for me that I am not interested in.
3. I have tons of energy and feel amazing without eating my exercise calories back. I do not get hungry nor do I feel lethargic.
4. I am maintaining a 2lb per week loss and have been for two straight months without eating them back in full.

I hope that makes sense to you now...

YES! All of this, but especially #2. I'm certainly not going to eat when I'm not hungry just to eat back my exercise cals.

hush7hush

Certain amounts of intensive or endurance exercise is known to shut off appetite.

Some people's metabolism will slow down after eating so few calories.

I know you don't believe it, but there are sometimes reasons for things we don't understand.

Sometimes the person is starting on an ED.

But I know for myself, especially when I run long, it is a good while before I am hungry afterward... and at that point, it is really hard to scarf down all of the calories I have left.

And I'm a believer in eating exercise calories. I don't have an ED and I don't want to lose weight.

Sometimes it helps to ask why instead of judge.

This might be my favorite. post. ever.

barbiex3

I agree!!! I've found myself in the middle of my cardio just thinking about what I'm "earning" calorie-wise and what all I'm gonna eat! LOL I've NEVER had a problem eating mine back. If I find I have a lot left over at the end of the day... a couple of spoons of peanut butter will fix that!

i love your honesty! I completely agree about the peanut putter too!! =]

Seajolly

And you actually lost weight by eating more than you did before? I find that so hard to understand... I mean, thermodynamics and that, if you don't get enough energy, your body HAS to use your fat stores. How can you get fat by undereating?

Yes, I've lost 14 pounds in like 42 days on MFP by eating more. You can get fat by undereating because you're body is basically in limbo. It's holding onto the calories you put in, and since the metabolism is slowed down, it's storing instead of burning.

In the past I've had an eating disorder where I really did get down to a low weight and my body was burning fat and muscle stores. At that point I was eating basically no carbs, mostly greens and fruit and that's it! I was getting 200-800 cals per day (and sometimes fasting too) and I lost a lot of weight! But that was EXTREME calorie restriction + lots of exercise. When I became overweight, it was because I was hovering around 800-1100 calories per day, which for my body made me gain weight unlike the extreme calorie restriction.